Root Canal Therapy 

One of the main objectives of dentistry is protecting the existing teeth and providing maintenance of their functions inside the mouth. Teeth do not have to be alive to function in the mouth.

When the pulpal tissue responsible for nutrition, defense and growth of the teeth is damaged or dies due to various reasons (caries, trauma, fracture...), the infected pulp in the root canal of tooth is removed, root canals are shaped, disinfected and filled with tissue-friendly channel filling material. This procedure is called “root canal therapy”.

Endodontics is the dentistry field that deals with and treats problems that reached the tooth pulp. Specialists that have completed their Doctor’s degree on this field are called Endodontists.


Complaints Requiring Root Canal Therapy 

-The most critical symptom of teeth requiring root canal therapy is severe pain. Such pain may begin with a stimulus such as heat, cold, chewing or touching as well as not stimulus at all. Patient generally needs to take painkillers. However, teeth that have died may manifest no symptoms. Pathological condition at the root’s end is observed through radiological examination. In this case, root canal therapy must be performed.

  • Swelling might occur in the gum or on the face due to an abscess formed at the end of tooth root.
  • As a result of the dying tooth, a structure called “fistula” may be formed in the gum towards the end of root, looking like a pimple.
  • Discoloration may also be observed when the tooth dies.


Which Teeth Are Suitable for Root Canal Therapy?

  • Provoke ya da spontan ağrısı olan dişler
  • Yapılan dolgu sonrası şikayetlerin devam ettiği dişler
  • Derin çürük, kırık, travma sonucu madde kaybının fazla olduğu dişler
  • Kuron protezi (kaplamalar) altında kalan, çürük dişler
  • Protez yapımı sırasında hassasiyet gösteren dişler
  • ravma sonucu oluşan kök kırıkları
  • Canlılığını kaybetmiş dişler
  • İlerlemiş diş eti hastalığı olan dişler

Is Root Canal Therapy a Painful Procedure?

Root canal therapy is performed under local anesthesia in order to eliminate toothache that affects our quality of life. The procedure is completely painless with anesthesia administered into the sufficient depth. However, it is hard to achieve an effective local anesthesia in the root canal therapy of acute pulpal diseases, and patients may feel a little pain. In such a case, the required emergency intervention is performed on the tooth, and therapy may be postponed to another day for pain control.

What is the Success Rate of Canal Therapy?

The success rate is high in a well-performed canal therapy. You can protect your tooth all your life if you follow proper tooth care instructions and do not skip regular doctor visits. There is the repeated treatment possibility in case of a potential failure. Please note that no prosthesis or implants will be as good as your own teeth. 

Will There Be Pain After Root Canal Therapy?

Since nerve tissue of the teeth that undergo root canal therapy is removed, no pain is felt in the teeth with stimulus such as heat and cold. However, pain might occur especially while chewing in the first few days. It is normal to have such reactions after the procedures during the healing of tooth tissue. Patient may use an anti-inflammatory drug recommended by the doctor. This pain will pass off in the following days. But not everyone feels the pain. Patients are generally relieved after the therapy and continue their daily life without any problem.

Root Canal Retreatment 

Root canal retreatment is the procedure performed in teeth that underwent root canal therapy but failed due to various reasons, by removing the previous canal filling from the root canals, enabling disinfection of root canals, re-performing the root canal filling, and restoring the surrounding tooth tissues back to their healthy condition. While the success rate is lower as compared to the first treatment, it is an alternative to tooth extraction. It is important to monitor the teeth after treatment. Especially young patients respond positively to treatment. Root canal retreatment is completed generally in one or two sessions depending on the case.


Reasons of Failure in Teeth that Undergo Root Canal Therapy 

Failure to remove the infection completely out of root canals and failure to completely clean up and fill the root canals are among the reasons of failure in root canal therapy. However, development of infection at the end of tooth root is also common after a successful root canal therapy. This is most generally because bacteria move to the root canals and lead to infection again in the presence of a fracture or crack in the filling on the tooth. The same applies to non-compliant crowns. Therefore, accurate performance of root canal therapy alone is not sufficient for the success rate. It is required to perform the restorations that construct the upper structure of teeth such as filling, crown or onlay properly, and patients must monitor these teeth well and refer to a dentist immediately when they have a problem related to the upper structure. This also underlines the importance of routine dentist visits.